It all started for me more than fifteen years ago behind the iron curtain in
Bulgaria, when I first heard of Deep Purple. I cant recall the exact date
or place, but I still clearly remember the song. It was Fireball (still one
of my all time favorites). Then one by one I started collecting different singles,
albums, information about the band, everything I could lay my hands on. Then
the inheritance of my fathers private audio collection followed, including
two Deep Purple albums (In Rock and Burn). I still remember
private house parties, where long discussions about the history and creation
of a particular song took place. Nights, entirely dedicated to listening to
Deep Purples records (mind you my honourable friends that was strictly
prohibited by the law at the time as Western Propaganda), where
exchange of information about the bands recent performances was the culmination
point of the party. At the time for us Deep Purple was covered in mystery and
the only way to keep in touch with the band was to listen to and study their
masterpieces over and over again.

It all came together and started making sense for me on Monday, 4th of
February, 2002 in the Point Depot, Dublin, Ireland, where I found myself
staring at a stage where the idols of an entire generation of people were
going to perform. Dublin was wet for the occasion as usual but that wasnt
an obstacle for the hundreds of fans. A definite sell out, Ireland was
eagerly awaiting its first encounter with Ian, Jon, Steve, Roger and Ian.
So was I, holding tight my only evidence that I was part of this meeting 
my priceless ticket. It was a first in more ways than one. It was their
first time ever coming to Dublin and it was my first time seeing them live,
so it was set to be special.

A band named The Planets carried out the opening act. Their style was a
rather pleasant combination of classical music and hard rock motives. Not
something that I would have expected but overall did well and the audience
responded with enthusiasm to their efforts to entertain us. Suddenly it was
over, the lights were on and Scorpions were played (not a very thoughtful
choice by the management I thought), followed by some heavy-industrial band,
which sang in German (nothing against that, but unusual for the occasion).
Anyway, we had a good laugh on their behalf (poor things, they are probably
a really good people in real life, but it sounded scary).

And there it was - the moment we were all waiting for. Darkness and out of
the darkness came a man disguised as an elderly person pushing a Zimmer
frame in front of him, who then jumped on it using it in a skateboard
manner. Ian was first, a true entertainer with a grate sense of humour.
The rest of the band quickly followed him on stage and didnt waste much
time to jump in with Woman from Tokyo. The place went crazy. The
staff
managed to keep people in their seats initially, which was only fair to the
ones at the back I suppose, but not for long. At the end of Woman
Ian
spoke for the first time to gratefully thank the audience for all those
years of patient waiting (I took that one personally) and to introduce the
second song, which was written on a napkin apparently  Ted
the
Mechanic. I was on the Moon! I always liked that song, but never thought
it could make it to the set list and stay there for so many years. After
the song Ian told us that Ted was actually a wine merchant but we couldnt
make it rhyme.

It was Mary Long and Lazy next (dont remember
the exact order, because
of too much excitement, but suspect Mary Long was first). The sound
was
perfect and my fears that Ian would not be at his best proved wrong after
this stormy beginning. There was a slight misunderstanding for a moment at
some point between them (I think it was in the beginning of Lazy),
but
they laughed it off.

Then came the shock from a pleasant surprise. I dont think anyone could
see it coming, but when Jon started with the intro of Child in Time
the
audience just went wild. I was staring in stupor not knowing which cloud I
was on exactly. Two guys next to us were on their knees, hugging each
other, with tears of joy in their eyes and some people were holding lit
lighters. It was an unreal, fantastic feeling, which took our breath away.
It was an emotional, moving performance of a song, which means a lot to a
great band and their fans. It was truly performed with a lot of passion and
I have to say Ian sang it brilliantly, fully deserving the two minutes
standing ovation that followed. Then Ian went on telling us that this was
the first time in ten years since the song was performed live, obviously
thrilled by the response from the audience.

A story about Steve came next. Ian told us that Steve is fond of flying
aeroplanes and that indeed he himself (Ian) was a frequent flyer in the
past in his dreams. Thats how The Aviator was introduced
to us. It is
not one of the songs I would be very familiar with really, but they went on
singing it with energy and enthusiasm that one could clearly see written on
their faces. It was an exiting moment, when on the first chorus all of them
went on singing into the mics, except maybe Jon, who I dont think had
one
infront of him (I could be wrong though). It was a cool, energetic and very
intense performance, which I thought, gave a lovely feeling of togetherness
and showed that they really enjoyed themselves.

The rumour was true! There was a new song and it was introduced as Up
the
Wall. My personal opinion is that the song was very good, typically
characteristic of their latest work with a lot of technicalities from a
musical point of view, equally representing their talents as
instrumentalists. Ian thanked the audience at the end for giving them (the
band) a chance to perform it (gentleman as always). It was The Well
Dressed Guitar next, which in the beginning was introduced as WD40.
Fools, No One Came (another one of my personal favourites)
and When a
Blind Man Cries came, followed by Perfect Strangers and Smoke
on the
Water. There was a wonderful mix of drum, base, organ and lead guitar
solos in all this, plus a generous and moving dedication of a song to a fan
who bought his ticket before Christmas but sadly passed away without having
the opportunity to see his favourites live.

The audience stood up immediately after Child in Time and I think
that was
the last time I saw a member of the staff trying to persuade people to sit
in their seats (unsuccessfully of course). We were singing at the top of
our voices on Smoke and I personally think Perfect Strangers
made a
great impact in the second part of the show. The set finished with Speed
King and what a powerful finish it was  Deep Purple, the dinosaurs
of rock
in their full glory. Than they waved goodbye and the theatre exploded with
noise of disapproval. I knew what was coming and moved together with my
girlfriend right next to the stage. And there they were, back to where they
belong  on stage among their fans. I was really pleased to see them
sincerely enjoying every minute of it. Ian introduced Hush as always
one
of our favourites and the audience went Laa la-la laa, La-la laa, La-la
laa. Rightly enough the gig finished with Highway Star, which again
was
an energetic and powerful performance. Very uplifting! This time they said
Goodbye for real after thanking us for the great night. Ian crossed
his
hands on his chest (heart), then pointed his index finger to his forehead
(mind) and finally grabbed something else and we sure got the message
 In
our hearts, in our minds and in our souls we will always be together!

In conclusion I would like to say that together with the excellent
performance there was an impressive light show, art work and sound
engineering involved. The gig went smoothly and professionally, as one
would expect from a band of this calibre. It was love from the first sight
between the band and the audience and Deep Purple deserved every bit of our
appreciation. For me personally it was a dream come true and an experience
of a lifetime that I will never forget.

I would like to thank my precious girlfriend Belinda Gamack for sharing this
experience with me and for her support, to my long term friend and devoted
Deep Purple fan Martin Georgiev for his true love of music and art and last
but not least to Deep Purple for the best night in my life and their
inspirational work through the years.